Franclamp wire management system and device

ABSTRACT

A wire management system and device for facilitating the connection of electrical wires to an electrical panel. The device includes a circular bracket as base member consisting of a series of intersecting rectangular apertures or openings that has a plurality of retention elements in the form of snap ons or tabs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application claiming priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/791,488 filed on Oct. 24, 2017 and entitled FRANCLAMP WIRE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND DEVICE to inventor Hunter Franssen, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wire management system and device for an electrical panel. Specifically, the wire management device relates to managing electrical cables and connectors which are routed through a cable management hole or knockouts in an electrical panel.

2. Description of the Related Art

Known wire management devices for routing cabling through an electrical panel generally include a decorative grommet or cap having an opening to allow a cable to pass therethrough, or include a pop-up or fixed electrical outlet extending from a cable management hole and protruding above the electrical panel.

One such known device includes a cylindrical sleeve that extends the depth of a cable management hole through an electrical panel. Additionally, the device includes a disk-shaped cap or grommet which defines an opening along its circumference to accommodate the passage of cables therethrough. The sleeve and grommet combination functions to secure a cable passing therethrough and to provide a closure to the cable management hole through the electrical panel. Connection or disconnection of the cable sockets must be inconveniently completed from the space under the electrical pane.

Other known wire management devices provide electrical cable routing through a cable management hole in an electrical panel by providing a pop-up or fixed element extending from the cable management hole and protruding above the electrical panel. Such devices are rather expensive, and the popup protrudes above the electrical panel in an unsightly and inconvenient manner.

Another known device includes the Qwik-grip wire management device and although this device has many of the advantages of the present invention, it is currently limited to the factory installed proprietary knockouts available to run the cables into. Further, all single connectors are capable of only 1 to 2 cables no matter how large the knockout is while the present invention offers a number of single connection clamps with one much larger knockout legally allowing up to 24 cables to come through one single large hole.

When installing a load center or doing a rough-in, knockouts typically present difficulties for electrical contractors in terms of the time and effort required to complete them. The present invention bypasses the knockouts, connectors, getting the wires in and so forth. The present invention therefore will save time off of each load center installation and enhances electrical contractors' efficiency and productivity on the job site.

The present invention makes rough-ins easier by removing the need for excessive knockouts and wire connectors while reducing the likelihood of installation mistakes, call backs and the number of parts needed. The invention also makes remodeling jobs and service changes easier and more straightforward.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure describes wire management system and device for facilitating the connection of electrical wires to an electrical panel. The device is includes a circular bracket as base member consisting of a series of intersecting rectangular apertures or openings that has a plurality of retention elements in the form of snap ons or tabs.

Advantageously, the wire management device is adapted for use with electrical panels having existing standard sized cable management holes or knockouts.

An additional advantage is that the wire management device can be inexpensively constructed from a single die cut and/or molded piece of plastic or similar material.

Yet a further advantage of the wire management device is that supported electrical wire can easily be pulled off and others installed into the wire management device without the use of tools.

A further advantage of the wire management device is that the intersecting rectangular apertures provide support for a plurality of various sized cables and wires.

A further advantage of the wire management device is the ease of installation. The present invention simplifies rough-ins by significantly reducing the number of knockouts needed for each load center installation

A further advantage of the wire management device is that it substantially reduces the amount of work required. A user spends less time unlinking wires, pulling wire through knockouts, struggling with frozen knockouts, installing filler plugs and counting out dozens of connectors to bring to each job site

A further advantage of the wire management device is that it speeds up wire installation, simplifying the rough-in. User has no need to remove excessive knockouts, installing wire connectors, and blindly pulling wire into a load center.

A further advantage of the wire management device is that it provides a great alternative as a retrofit for service upgrades, remodels or just adding a circuit. It is easily removed leaving a convenient opening to pull in the existing branch circuits.

While this invention has been described as having exemplary embodiments and scenarios, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations or the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire management device according to one form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the wire management device of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a side view taken along section lines of the wire management device of FIG. 2 ;

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention. The exemplification set out herein illustrates preferred embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a wire management device which traps and clamps electrical cords and non metallic sheathed cable commonly known as NMB or Romex wires to an electrical panel which minimizes and obviates the disadvantages of the prior art.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a cable clamping apparatus which applies multimode clamping forces to cables in a wide range of diameters without causing damaging or compromising effects to the cables.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a cable clamping apparatus which includes a number of single connection clamps with a much larger knockout legally allowing up to 24 cables to come through one single large electrical knockout.

These objects are accomplished in one form according to the present invention by providing a number of apertures through which the cables are clamped. The device has a number of chambers and each of them will hold up to two cables and each cable or wire in the chamber is separated by a plastic or non electrical conductive barrier which can be removed to accommodate larger cable sizes.

A first embodiment of the inventive wire management device 100 provides a plate 110 for supporting at least one multiple cables or wires. The plate defines a number of apertures 120 to allow the electrical wires to pass through and a snap on 130 the device shield to keep the wires behind for a secure, code compliant installation. The plate may be fastened directly to the top, underside, interior, and/or exterior of an electrical panel or side factory stamped knockout.

In one form, the present invention provides a device for allowing a plurality of different sized electrical wires, to pass through intersecting rectangular apertures defined within the device. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A knockout adapter for an electrical panel, comprising: a circular member having engagements for engaging with a knockout aperture of an electrical panel; rectangular apertures configured within the circular member, the rectangular apertures providing support for a plurality of various sized cables or wires supported by the base member; and a plurality of retention elements in the form of snap ons or tabs to keep the wires or cables securely fixed within the rectangular apertures, wherein the rectangular apertures are of more than one size.
 2. The adapter of claim 1, wherein said circular member includes a circular flange.
 3. The adapter of claim 1, wherein the engagements include flexible clips.
 4. The adapter of claim 1, wherein the snap ons or tabs are removable.
 5. The adapter of claim 1, wherein the rectangular apertures are sized and arranged to accept any one of a plurality of different sized wires and cables.
 6. The wire management device of claim 1, wherein the rectangular apertures are defined by dividers.
 7. The wire management device of claim 1, wherein the rectangular apertures are defined by dividers and the dividers are removable.
 8. A knockout adapter for an electrical panel, comprising: a circular support means engagement means coupled to the circular support means, the engagement means for engaging with a knockout aperture of an electrical panel; rectangular apertures configured within the circular support means, the rectangular apertures providing support for a plurality of various sized cables or wires supported by the base member; and a plurality of retention means to keep the wires or cables securely fixed within the rectangular apertures, and the rectangular apertures are of more than one size.
 9. The adapter of claim 8, wherein said circular support means includes a circular flange.
 10. The adapter of claim 8, wherein the engagements means include flexible clips.
 11. The adapter of claim 8, wherein the retention means include snap ons or tabs that are removable.
 12. The adapter of claim 8, wherein the rectangular apertures are sized and arranged to accept any one of a plurality of different sized wires and cables.
 13. The adapter of claim 8, wherein the rectangular apertures are defined by dividers.
 14. The adapter of claim 8, wherein the rectangular apertures are defined by dividers and the dividers are removable. 